feedback on my CAD system configuration

For CAD use I'd probably go with an i7-4770K over a Xeon E3, it takes a lot more to setup a Xeon workstation and the components are far more expensive - workstation motherboards, ECC RAM, things of that nature. Although I don't get the use of the second SSD. Is there a reason for it?

You can probably get a better feel for what hardware you need by checking the websites of the software you intend to use. Personally, I think the CPU is overkill.

Look at my view for such system (nickname is iskra) in this topic http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-1761015/workstation-autocad-revit-2014-1200-monitor.html#11326387

For your build I believe it's greatly overspec'ed and overpriced.

You PSU is too much. For example Mac Pro uses 980W PSU and it's a prebuild system with two old power hungry six core processors and high celling of expansion (128GB RAM, 4 3.5" 7200rpm HDD, 2 DVD writers, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth AND 4 PCIe2.0 slots for GPUs or other extension cards)

You usually don't need an expensive MB if you are not going to overclock or use something like virtualization

If you are set on FirePro and it's useful for your software then e3 Xeon is a right choice. If not go with i7-4770 (or s variant) with its iGPU.

I don't see the point of expensive watercooler. Really.

Why not DDR3-1600 RAM? I believe two SSDs don't make much sense either. And I know many power users who are fine with just 64GB of SSD for OS/Programs and their current projects. 128 will do, but if you can buy 256 then go for it. But you don't need two of them.

Why WD Red? They mean it for RAID application and it's price tag is because of it. Buy two cheap 2 or 3TB HDDs and do timed backup. You can even put one (or buy already cased) in external enclosure for added security.

To estimate power draw you can use for example this calculator http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

I would go with modular SeaSonic since it's known OEM supplier of quality PSUs. And it's low noise.
And if you want to pay for low noise go with Noctua cooler. Even 9cm one is very efficient while almost silent.

If it's really big difference of RAM price then of course go with 1333 but usually difference is negligible.
And then eventually you, I believe, would like to add another 2x8GB and that is when you think about its frequency again.

I would just go with pair of 5400/5900rpm Toshiba drives. Those are almost silent and cheap.
Or do you think WD Red will never fail?

1. Xeons can be used on standard LGA 1150 motherboards, but they work best with far more expensive workstation specific motherboards, they also take advantage of much more expensive non-parity ECC RAM (and slower RAM speeds), which is something those CPU review websites don't tell you.
2. Not necessarily. I use my work rig for CAD purposes and I've never had the need to use more than one SSD and one HD, 95% of my files get stored on a central file server.

-First I checked out the best single thread performance CPU.
Comparison between the top Desktop CPU and top Server CPU- E3-1270 v3 VS i7 4770K

Click to expand...

I personally dislike CPU Boss, I think they're incredibly biased and don't check facts, there's far better benchmark websites out there.

-Second I want a stable system and I'm not interested in overclocking

Click to expand...

Paying more money for a Xeon does not necessarily mean your system will be stable. You can get the non overclock version of the i7-4770 and be fine.

-Third and final reason, I want a don't want to buy a new computer in a long while so I want it to last as long as possible! ;-)

Click to expand...

That's not going to make a build "future proof". Hell at my firm we're still running the latest version of AutoCAD on Athlon X2 systems. You don't need a Xeon for that purpose. And if you're not overclocking there's no reason to purchase that Corsair liquid cooler either.

The e3-1270v3 will be the same performance as the 4770k. They are the same speed and same architecture, in fact every spec affecting performance is the same. The differences are igpu, price and features like ecc ram capability, vt-d and the ability to oc. The link you provided is not reliable. It's a user submitted score and normal people's pcs have too many uncontrolled variables. Since it is user submitted, it can also be modified. To alleviate these issues, they average multiple samples; unfortunately there is only 1 sample for the e3 but 348 samples for the 4770k. Another issue is that it is a synthetic benchmark which I don't prefer when you can get real world benchmarks. Different software will have different performance on the same cpu, so it is best to check benchmarks of the software you are using.

Stability is not an issue with either cpu. With the ability to oc and a similar price, the 4770k would be better for delaying a pc upgrade. But would understand if you would never oc.

The difference in noise and power between the hdds is negligible for a single pc. For servers/multi storage situations it adds up and would be a factor there. Wd red does have double the cycles but again is not a concern as a storage drive, it's not going to be heavily used.



I can currently find the 4770k cheaper than the e3 so included that in this build. Even upgrading ram and gpu, I seem to be much lower than your budget.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1qosE
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1qosE/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1qosE/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-PRO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($239.75 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($214.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($85.98 @ Outlet PC)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
GPU: AMD 100-505635 FirePro W5000 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 Workstation Video Card ($424.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1590.66
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-10 15:02 EDT-0400)

OK, now my configuration looks like this:

CPU: Intel Core i7 4770K / 3.5 GHz processor

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
be quiet! SilentWings 2 120mm x2 (15.7 dBA 50,5 cfm would be enough since I won't overclock)

MOBO: ASUS MK P9D WS - ATX LGA1150 C226 (slightly more expensive than ASUS Z87-PRO)

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16 GB : 2 x 8 GB - DIMM 240-pin x2

Storage: Samsung 840 Pro SSD (Bulk) - 256GB
Western Digital WD Red - 2TB (23 dBA 0.6W standby 4.4W read/write)

Case: Fractal Design Define XL R2 - tower
be quiet! Silent Wings 2 140mm x2 (15.8 dBA 60,4 cfm)

PSU: Seasonic Sea Sonic G Series 650

GPU: AMD FirePro V4900

Price about: $2117 (note that I'm from Sweden and the parts are more expencive here)


*edit* TYPO on CPU i7 wrote a 3 instead of a 4 *edit*

The cpu you have is not compatible with the mobo; wrong socket. If you do go with the 4770k, go with z87 mobo. If you wanted to spend less on the mobo, go with a ASRock Z87 Extreme3. You don't need to buy fans for the cooler, the stock one is 9dba at it's lowest speed. Those be quiet fans also lack pwm so would be louder. What is the reason for the xl case? It's unnecessarily huge for this build and you're spending extra money for no benefit. If the wd red costs a good amount more, just go with a green. It's about the same power/noise which shouldn't be a concern anyway. I only picked that psu because there was a special promo price. You can go with a 450-500w which is plenty for future upgrades, you can run your current specs on a 300w.

Hej!

CPU. Odd choice since you are not going to overclock.
In this case 4770 or 4770S(low-power) is ideal.

MOBO. Odd choice again in case you are not overclocking.
Read this http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Z87-H87-H81-Q87-Q85-B85-What-is-the-difference-473/
You will probably be fine and dandy with much cheaper B85 based motherboard.

RAM: You don't need expensive memory in case you are on Intel and not overclocking. Cheapest one 1600MHz will do.

Storage: I still think it's better going with one so called green low rpm HDD and the second USB3 3.5" in external enclosure.

PSU: In case you are going to add another videocard later I would understand 650W but since it will not help with CAD in any way I doubt you are going to. And don't forget it's not optimal to run PSU on light duty — it will actually use more electricity than same PSU but optimized for lower working wattage.

GPU: Why did you go with more expensive i7-4770 if you are buying discrete card? It has nothing except integrated GPU that E3 Xeon you've mentioned first doesn't have. E3 it just the same CPU without integrated graphics.

? Do you mean I should skip the SSD?


I've been looking at the E3-1275v3 and the spes on Intel's HD Graphic P4600, it says it's CAD certified?! What exactly does that mean? How good will it perform compared to FirePro V4900? I haven't been able to find an answere to this by googling!

No. I mean go for SSD and 2 HDDs — one for data and second one (preferably external) for backup of SSD and data HDD. You don't need to pay for WD Red it's not server you are not running it in RAID.

Regarding HD P4600 vs HD 4600. Maybe drivers are different but hardware just the same.
I believe V4900 will be faster than HD 4600/P4600 but is it worth the price difference I can't say. Probably it would be the same for simple projects and will become more apparent on large and complex. I'm not working with CAD myself. I would recommend you to find sane CAD specialist who is buying his gear by himself and ask what he thinks.

It's only about $8 more (where I buy it), it's more silent and draws less power than the WD Green, why whould it be such a bad idea? ;-)

Then why not. Go for it.)

What's the price difference to blue or black?

Certified just means they tested it themselves to see if it works but truthfully there really isn't any gpu that won't. The v4900 is nearly double the performance which really only matters in 3d.

From WD Red 2TB to WD Black 2TB the step is about $57.5

The WD Blue only have capacity up to 1TB but compared to a WD Red 1TB it's about $14.5 less,
if you compare with a WD Black 1TB the Blue it's about $26.5 less.

Okey, so if I'm going to buy a discrete GPU, is there a good reason to buy a CPU without an iGPU?

I have been looking around the internet and tried to find a good answere to this but every one says different!
One argument is that it's better to buy a CPU with an iGPU and dissable it your self instead of buy one without iGPU which is basicly the same CPU but intel disabled it for you.
Is this correct or is it just speculations?

If you take a look at those synthetic benchmarks the performance is much better on the CPU without iGPU, for example single thread performance, than the one with an iGPU!
How is this, or is it true in real life benchmarks as well? (haven't found any on the E3-12*0v3, E3-12*5v3)

If you aren't going to use the igpu then it doesn't make a difference.

So how is it that the synthetic benchmarks shows different, is it becaus they're synthetic?
CPUboss: E3-1270v3 vs E3-1275 v3
If it doesn't make any difference wouldn't it be better to get the CPU with the iGPU to have as a backup GPU?

...or wouldn't get the same score if you'd run the test with the iGPU disabled?

I've already explained why it's not reliable. Igpu does not affect performance. Doesn't it cost more than the 4770k?

Here we go again, more googling and reading!

Intel Core i7-4770K
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
ASUS Z87-A (C2) or the ASUS Z87-PRO (not sure, it's $58 more than the -A)
Crucial Ballistix Sport - 16 GB : 2 x 8 GB x2
Samsung 840 Pro SSD - 128GB
Western Digital WD Red - 2TB
Fractal Design DEFINE R4 BLACK
Seasonic G Series Gold - 450W PSU
AMD FirePro V4900

Total: $1706 (Swedish prices)

Feels like I'm ready to click the "check out" button soon!

Are you going to overclock or not?